The present invention relates to a microphone mounting and control system for use in the drivers compartment of a vehicle. The system of the present invention enables one to operate the microphone without releasing his hands from the steering and control devices for the vehicle. Such a system is particularly useful to a handicapped person who has little use of his legs and must maintain one hand on the steering wheel of the vehicle and the other hand on a control arm extending from a steering column of a vehicle and having acceleration and brake controls thereon, while the vehicle is in motion.
With advances in technology, various mechanisms and controls have been developed for enabling a handicapped person to operate a motor vehicle. Several examples of special control mechanisms for operating a vehicle are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
U.s. pat. No. 2,602,348 PA1 U.s. pat. No. 2,707,886 PA1 U.s. pat. No. 2,731,850 PA1 U.s. pat. No. 2,827,801
Since the handicapped person has limited mobility, it is desirable that such a vehicle, which is specially adapted for operation by a handicapped person, also have a two way radio system, so that, if the person is unable to continue operation of the vehicle, he can radio for assistance.
Where the handicapped person has limited use of his legs and can not operate the normal foot pedals provided in a vehicle for controlling accelerating and braking of the vehicle, a modified acceleration and brake control mechanism has heretofore been developed which includes a hand operated control arm which extends outwardly from the steering column of the vehicle. This control arm has control means such as rotatable sleeve portions by which the operator can control the acceleration and braking of the vehicle. Typically, the control arm extends from the steering column toward the door on the drivers side of the vehicle. With this arrangement, the handicapped person can operate the control arm with his left hand while holding the steering wheel with his right hand.
With both of his hands occupied, the handicapped operator of the vehicle often finds it ackward, if not impossible, to also operate a microphone, particularly while the vehicle is in motion. To solve this problem and as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the present invention provides a microphone mounting and control system for mounting a microphone from the dashboard in the drivers compartment of a vehicle so that the microphone is located at a position within the operators normal voice range and for operating the microphone from a position adjacent a control arm extending from the steering column of the vehicle thereby to enable the driver to operate the microphone while both of the drivers hands are occupied in operating the vehicle.